FlightWatch - 2020, Volume 4

FALL 2020 MAF.ORG

LOOKING FORWARD 1

F L I G H T WAT C H

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

None of the stories you are about to read would be possible without the support of people like you. It is our pleasure to show you how you are making it possible for the gospel to transform the lives of isolated people around the world.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

–HEBREWS 11:1

Your prayers, your gifts, your time, are key to MAF’s ministry. Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus at the ends of the earth!

Every gift you send, every prayer you offer for MAF, helps change lives through aviation. We enjoy hearing from you! Please send comments and questions to maf-us@maf.org.

Tracey Werre, Director of Marketing Chris Burgess, Managing Editor Micki Blair, Production Manager

The Bible provides a clear definition of what it means to have faith in something. Faith is more than just a wishful or vague hope. Faith is certain and can be grasped with confidence because God is trustworthy and sovereign over His creation.

This year, I’m more grateful than ever that our faith is in the hands of a God who holds all things together. Life is hard right now—particularly in the isolated places MAF serves. We’ve faced some heavy things this year: the loss of a pilot, plans gone awry in the face of a pandemic, high levels of uncertainty.

All of these things force us to confront a simple but profound question: “Is the work we are doing worth it?”

Alex Kildow, Designer Chris Burgess, Jeanelle Reider, and Jennifer Wolf, Writers/Resourcing

MAF maintains the highest standards of financial accountability and public disclosure to donors and the U.S. government. MAF is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) as well as other organizations. A list of all organizations can be found at maf.org/about/ accountability.

Mission Aviation Fellowship PO Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653-0047

We serve a gentle yet powerful God who is able to redeem broken things. This edition of FlightWatch bears testimony to the life and hope that can spring from death and uncertainty.

I invite you to read the story of a pastor whose ministry blossomed after the passing of an MAF pilot as well as a story of Papuan children whose lives are being greatly influenced by our MAF staff. I believe these stories provide resounding proof that, “Yes! It is worth it!”

As I look to the past, and consider the present, it strengthens my faith in the future, because I know our God will continue to walk beside us. He is worthy of our confidence!

Thank you for taking the journey with us.

Serving Together,

208-498-0800 1-800-FLYS-MAF (359-7623) Cover Photo: Maria Weya, a member of the first graduating class of Sekolah Papua Harapan in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Jacinda Basinger.

David Holsten President and CEO

Moi women in Papua, Indonesia, study God’s Word intently.

Photo by Mark Hewes.

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S O R ROW I N TO J OY

IT WAS M AY 11, and the first day of a planned staycation for MAF president David Holsten. He and his family were hiking when he got the call; Joyce Lin’s airplane had gone down in Lake Sentani.

In his earlier MAF years as a chief pilot in Kalimantan, David had imagined getting that call. He’d always wondered how he would respond. “It was kind of surreal like, okay, here it is,” said David. “And then pretty quickly my mind went to, I’m going to have to have a really difficult conversation with her family.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEATH AND DESPAIR COLLIDE WITH EVERLASTING HOPE

BY JENNIFER WOLF

David went home, changed, and joined a crisis team that had gathered at MAF headquarters.

Thirty minutes later they got the call saying Joyce’s body had been recovered.

“So then there was this new reality. It was heavy.

It was emotional. We stopped. We prayed together,” said David.

And then it was time to call the Lin family.

The rest of the week David and the team were in crisis response mode. Local and national media outlets were requesting interviews, and David was at his standing desk doing Zoom call after Zoom call. Later in the week, someone left him a voicemail, said it was urgent. The man didn’t say why he was calling so David didn’t know what to expect, but he dialed the number.

Pastor Ernie Dignadice in the early 1990s in front of his church in Quezon, Palawan, Philippines. Photo courtesy of Ernie Dignadice.

“I saw the news story about your pilot, Joyce,” said the man.

Then he began to share his story.

LASSOING FEAR

During language studies in the 1960s in Manila, Philippines, MAF pilot George Raney had just spent an hour on public transportation to pick up mail from the post office. He sat down at the kitchen table with his wife, Beth, and they began pouring over letters from home.

1-800-FLYS-MAF

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George read one from the MAF office. “You’re going to want to read this,” he said, handing it to her.

It was written by the widow of an MAF pilot whose plane had gone down in Venezuela.

After reading it, Beth told her husband, “Honey, I don’t know what I would do if something like that happened to you.”

George looked at her with tender love and said, “Always remember that our times are in His hands.”

That night Beth tossed and turned. She knew George had settled it in his heart. Now she had to, or she would live every day in fear. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, she was able to say, “Lord, though I don’t know if that is in our journey, I know you’re going to take care of us.”

And she slept peacefully.

El Nido, Palawan Island, Philippines. Photo by Eibner Saliba.

DECEMBER 22, 1968

It was raining in the town of Quezon on Palawan Island in the Philippines. The local pastor, Ernie Dignadice, was at his church meeting with the youth. George had just picked up a Baptist missionary, Merle Buckingham, who had been visiting a barrio (village) to share the Christmas story. After that, George was doing a supply drop for another missionary family in Tabon before returning Merle to his home.

Normally, Ernie accompanied George and Merle on these trips. George would land on a beach and work on building an airstrip in the jungle while Merle did medical clinics and Ernie translated. In the evenings, the men would hold worship services and tell people about Jesus.

Ernie heard the MAF plane pass overhead.

He was expecting Merle to drop a letter for him detailing plans for evangelistic meetings

they would hold at their barrio church plants in January. But a short time later, the letter still had not appeared. Did they forget? he wondered.

Just then two Palawano men rushed in. “Pastor, pastor, come! The plane crashed in Tabon!”

CLINGING TO HOPE

“I wanted to offer my condolences to you on the loss of Joyce,” continued Ernie Dignadice on the phone with David Holsten. Ernie now pastors a church in San Diego, California.

“We can see he’s already redeeming Joyce’s accident.

It’s hard; we would never choose this, but we trust that God has a plan and He is good.”

He wanted to let David know that Joyce’s death was not in vain and shared how God had used George and Merle’s deaths in Palawan years ago to shape Ernie and his ministry.

“I was challenged by these two missionaries who gave their lives for our countrymen,” explained Ernie. “By God’s grace I carried on the work and stayed for 30 years.”

Ernie went from pastoring one church to nurturing the many barrio churches that were planted during those earlier outreach trips. And those churches have sent out more workers to other countries around the world.

“A lot of people were blessed because of what we brought them, the gospel and the medical missions that we were having through the help of MAF,” said Ernie.

An early photo of Ernie with members of his church in Quezon, Palawan province. Today, his son serves as the pastor. Ernie continues to visit and mentors a few dozen pastors from the barrios. Photo courtesy of Ernie Dignadice.

Ernie’s encouraging words caused something to shift in David—from a pinpoint focus on the crisis to a wide-angle lens on the future. He imagined looking back someday and seeing how God used this tragedy to draw people to His heart.

“We can see he’s already redeeming Joyce’s accident,” said David. “It’s hard; we would never choose this, but we trust that God has a plan and He is good.”

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MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT

STEVE & LINDSAY BILIMEK “The stress of the wives adds to the stress of the husbands, and it can just keep going from there,” explains Lindsay. “Teachers help protect family life, marriages, and the team in that way.”

They also free up the wives to do ministry outside of the home.

And the children have access to a great education.

“Steve has a God-given ability to understand teens and know what they need, even if they themselves don’t realize it,” explained Lindsay. “He isn’t so concerned with their grades as he is about their hearts.”

“Being a teacher with MAF is so much more than a day job,” says Steve Bilimek, who serves at MAF’s Peningki Hill School in Tarakan. “It has been a tremendous blessing to not just be a teacher to these kids, but to be their uncle, coach, teammate, mentor, and friend. We get to do life together in every way.”

“There has been much laughter in my classroom, but also many tears as we talked about the hard issues missionary kids face,” said Steve. “We opened the Bible together, learned together, and supported each other.”

Steve, his wife, Lindsay, and their three children arrived in Kalimantan, Indonesia, over three years ago. Right away, their MAF teammates told them they’d prayed for teachers to come—there had been no teacher for a time.

Steve and Lindsay have seen firsthand how vital the teacher’s role is to the MAF Tarakan team being able to carry out the work of the ministry.

But now the Bilimeks need additional ministry partners to continue serving in Kalimantan.

“If we hadn’t come when we did, quite a few families were ready to leave and go somewhere with consistent schooling,” said Steve. “Doing life here in Tarakan is hard enough without trying to homeschool your children.”

“Trying to raise funds from overseas is a difficult process,” said Steve. “To have people commit to pray for us and support our ministry financially would be one more way God demonstrates His love and plan for us.”

Daily life in Tarakan is already a challenge for MAF staff. MAF wives make most of their foods from scratch. Shopping takes time. The power goes out. The heat is a constant energy drain.

To join their team and play a part in bringing the love of Jesus to isolated people in Kalimantan, visit maf.org/Bilimek.

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JOURNEY TO THE FUTURE

BY JEANELLE REIDER

Eight anxious young passengers gave one last hug to their hopeful parents, took a deep breath as the MAF pilot buckled their seatbelts, and watched their village disappear from view. As the airplane rose higher above the mountains, tears trickled down their cheeks. Each child silently wondered: what will happen to me now?

An hour and a half later, the airplane landed in the coastal city of Sentani and the children stepped into a world they could not have imagined.

WHAT IF …

Over a decade earlier, Wally Wiley—then MAF program manager for Papua, Indonesia—had a growing desire to see Papuan children become future MAF pilot/mechanics and leaders in their society. But he faced a major obstacle: these kids, so full of potential, belonged to a marginalized culture with little opportunity for formal education.

Wally’s idea was to form a school where village kids could receive a quality education and be discipled in Christ-like leadership qualities, while retaining their cultural identity and family connections.

Ester Bagau displays her high school diploma as a member of the first graduating class of the Papua Hope School. Photo by Jacinda Basinger.

MAF.ORG

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Papua Hope School (Sekolah Papua Harapan—SPH) was born a few years later.

And eight wide-eyed children from the Moni tribe stepped off an airplane to become the school’s first kindergarten class.

HEARTS AWAKENING

THE STAGE IS SET

Imagine never having seen a car or TV or lived in a home with electricity. When the youngsters first ate ice cream, they were shocked—how could something be cold and seem to have smoke rising from it at the same time?

On May 9, 2020, seven beaming young adults in blue caps and gowns stepped onto a stage (the eighth will follow next year). An aspiring doctor, government leader, community developer, health care worker, air traffic controller, MAF pilot, and MAF mechanic.

MAF staff helped the students acclimate to their new surroundings by welcoming the students into their homes, flying them back and forth to their villages, giving them opportunities to learn aviation skills, teaching English, and mentoring them.

Erik rose to speak. “When I was a little kid in the village, I had no idea that we would be chosen to be a part of SPH. And now look at us standing here! When we’ve succeeded in our educational journey, let’s invest to make Papua an even better place!”

Because of the commitment of devoted families in the village, passionate teachers, and faithful missionaries, the students grew in their relationships with Christ.

These graduates are grateful for these life-changing opportunities. They stand on the shoulders of people like you whose prayers and financial gifts helped open their future. Today, they are joined by 1,000 other children who attend seven sister schools in the mountains of Papua. Schools that depend on MAF flights.

When they reached ninth grade, the students took an important national exam with a roomful of other students. After the test, the proctor offered everyone a chance to cheat. Tegi, one of the SPH students, refused to change his answers, and the other SPH students followed suit. They all passed the test with their integrity intact.

As the students grew, so did their understanding of God’s plan for them.

Ester discovered the career she was meant to pursue after Willem Jonkers—an MAF pilot and host family dad—took her to visit an air traffic control tower. "Willem is the one who told me to have a plan B and C for my future."

Erik remembers the moment he knew God was calling him to be an MAF pilot. It was when pilot Alex Ludvicek let him take the controls during a flight as part of an MAF internship. “I felt like, ‘This pilot role fits!’ Praise the Lord— I'm so thankful for MAF's ongoing support!”

The first Papua Hope School graduating class celebrates with a traditional toss of their graduation caps. Photo by Jacinda Basinger.

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NEWS

DELIVERING GREAT SERVICE IN LESOTHO

During the lockdown in June, a DHL plane blew a tire upon landing at the international airport in Lesotho, Africa. The pilots asked around and someone said maybe MAF could help. And help they did. After gathering tools and getting permission to drive on the runway, one of MAF’s local mechanics, Thoahlane, took the wheel apart and installed a new one in no time. And the DHL guys were extremely happy they wouldn’t need to spend the night— especially as it would have meant a two-week quarantine for them!

Photo by Jason Theimann.

JUST COMPLETED!

Photo by Lem Malabuyo.

The MAF campus in Nampa, Idaho, is now enjoying its new family center. This final piece of the campus expansion project, funded by generous donors, includes gathering places such as a library/business center, children’s center, game/teen center, and an exercise room.

These spaces will help build a sense of community among MAF missionaries and their families visiting the campus during candidacy, evaluation, and training. It will be a great asset in recruiting, preparing, and retaining the next generation of MAF staff members.

PRAYER REQUESTS – Due to COVID-19 restrictions, some MAF staff overseas have not been able to leave their countries of service to take a break or furlough. Pray that they would find ways to rest and rejuvenate.

– The MAF team in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has increased their passenger load by five times due to an unsafe road situation to the north. Unrest there has led to several thousand displaced people in the main city of Bunia.

Pray for the unrest to end.

– Lift up the recent graduates of the Papua Hope School in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia, as they pursue higher education and continue to seek the Lord’s will for their lives.

– Pray for our newest MAF missionaries who are currently trying to build their ministry partnership teams amidst the new realities of COVID-19 precautions.

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We’re excited to tell you about a new way you can connect even deeper with the work God is doing in isolated places around the world through MAF! Flight Crew is a special group made up of faithful people who support MAF on a monthly basis. Join Flight Crew by setting up a monthly recurring gift and bring the love of Jesus to people living at the ends of the earth.

As a Flight Crew Member, your prayers and monthly giving make it possible for MAF to reach people living in remote jungles, deserts, and mountains.

Your support gives them access to the gospel message, medical care, education, community development, disaster relief, and more.

Become a Flight Crew Member today by visiting maf.org/joinflightcrew.

Flight Crew Members receive these exclusive benefits: Incredible Virtual Reality (VR) experiences. We’ll mail you a limited edition MAF-branded cardboard VR viewer so you can so you can enjoy cool 360° videos.

VIP access to cockpit videos and podcast episodes that take you behind the scenes of the ministry.

Exclusive impact updates. We’ll keep you up to date through meaningful stories about the incredible things your support is making possible.